Classical Americana and weekend jazz

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Lindsey Webster, who is the first vocalist since Sade to top the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart, will perform at the Broadmoor Weekend of Jazz.

In a tradition that should now be near and dear to local jazz fans, Grammy-winning guitarist and erstwhile Return to Forever member Earl Klugh is set to once again turn Colorado Springs into something of a smooth jazz mecca with the annual Broadmoor Weekend of Jazz.

This year’s installment of the three-day “getaway” features Klugh joined by the young Woodstock, New York-based singer Lindsey Webster, who can already boast two No. 1 tracks on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts — being the first vocalist to top said chart since Sade in 2010. Webster’s appearance at the Weekend of Jazz comes on the heels of the release of her sophomore album, Love Inside, which features tracks inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and addressing the recent immigration debates in the U.S.

While jazz may be one of the most iconic forms of American music and one of the preeminent American traditions in art music, it is hardly the only one. The Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s upcoming Philharmonic Pops presentation, simply titled “America,” offers a fairly eclectic look at pieces from the equally eclectic American symphonic tradition.

The program features the first set from Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs” cycles — which features at least a couple tunes you’ll probably recognize — along with Morton Gould’s energetic 1942 setting “American Salute,” contemporary composer Peter Boyer’s work “Ellis Island: The Dream of America,” and an assortment of works from more “deep cut” American composers, such as Arthur Pryor and Henry Fillmore.

Fun fact: Henry Fillmore wrote a great number of circus marches, aka “screamers,” and played trombone. He attempted to keep both of these facts a secret from his conservative, religious father, who considered the trombone a lewd and sinful instrument. (The more you know...)

While Mr. James Henry Fillmore Sr. would likely disapprove of this program, it should be good clean fun for all the rest of us. You can catch “America” the weekend of April 13 to 14 at the Pikes Peak Center.